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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE THANK YOU to cleanup chairpersons, Lorraine & Dick Carlson, and Joanne Wheelock, and the many volunteers who braved inclement weather for our annual Spring Cleanup. Fortified with much good food, volunteers gathered a record amount of refuse. (Note: Roadways near construction sites and on Route 29A were especially bad this year. If you are building or remodeling, please remind your contractors to dispose of construction waste and garbage properly, and monitor them!)
As we mark our 30th year as an association, please note the full calendar of events listed in this newsletter for our lake community this summer! Be sure to mark your calendars to join us and watch PLPA bulletin boards for additional information. And as the summer comes to an end, don't forget the annual PLPA Business Meeting, which is scheduled for 9am, Saturday, August 30th at Peck's Storage Barn.
I would like to thank all who have served as board and committee members and the many volunteers who have worked throughout the year to make our lake the special home and environment it is. THANK YOU also to all our dues paying members. Your support is essential and appreciated! (An asterisk next to your address label on this newsletter indicates your dues have not been received! Please mail your dues ASAP, or notify us if we are in error!)
Have a safe, enjoyable summer.
Kathy Henry, President
CANOE & KAYAK CLINIC thinking about purchasing a canoe or kayak? Already own one but want to know more about how to use it and safety issues? Wish to sharpen your skills? Join instructors Dave Pratt and Bob Ireland at 9am sharp at the Pratt's, 442 North Shore Road. Come prepared with a PFD (life vest) and canoe or kayak, if you have one. Contact Dave (725-6460) by June 116th to register, for more information, or to help.
INDEPENDENCE DAY FLARES So traditional we can't remember when it began. At dusk, light a standard road flare on your dock and share the evening with friends and neighbors from all around the lake.
DETAILS for the PLPA Annual DinnerBernie Sleeper Memorial Golf Tournament were included in this newsletter.
BREAKFAST AT ROCK ISLAND - Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 10am An impromptu repast on the waters near our most renowned geological feature. Bring a dish to share. An event all should experience. Contact Larry Doubleday at 725-6680 for more information.
This month's issue, as always, included our Calendar of Events and a listing of our Officers, Board Members & Committee Chairpeople.
YARD SALE - Saturday, August 2, 2003; 9am to Noon Tired of those old dishes? Need room in the garage so you can fit something new? A community yard sale will be held at the location of your choice. If there's interest, the picnic area on the west Bay by route 29A will be available for a high visibility location, or you may set up in your garage or yard to save lugging all that 'stuff" all over. Just be sure to put up balloons or a sign indicating where you can be found. We'll take care of the rest with signs by the road and an advertisement in the Leader-Herald. Official hours of operation are from 9am to noon but you are welcome to extend your hours is warranted. For additional information, please contact Yard Sale Chairperson Carol Regan at 725-0782. (Raindate is August 3rd)
SUMMER HIKE / PICNIC / CONCERT Start this fun filled day with an invigorating hike on the North Shore Trail at 8am. Our guides Bill Nitsche and Dick Carlson will show items of interest along the route and ensure that no one is lost in the woods. Come prepared with hiking boots, water and energy food and expect to spend about two hours hiking. Vehicles will be available at the end of the trail if you wish to do a half hike. Please contact Bill at 725-1849 or Dick at 773-7571 to express interest. After the hike grab a dish to pass and hurry over to the meadow between the campsites and the dam because you won't want to miss our Annual Picnic and the 30th Year PLPA Birthday Celebration!
ANNUAL MEETING - Saturday, August 30, 2003 Our Annual Business Meeting is held at 9:00 at Peck's storage Barn. we review the "doings" of the association over the previous year. This is an opportunity to express your opinions in an open forum and learn about the issues that the association is facing and what's in store for the future. The meeting is held rain or shine...please bring your own chair.
GOLF SCRAMBLE The PLPA is having a Fall Golf outing so don't put your clubs away yet! The format will be a four-person scramble, to be held at Fox Run in Johnstown. Enjoy an informal 'buy your own lunch" and maybe even win a prize for the lucky golfers. Check the PLPA website and your bulletin board for details and reserve that date for a fun day. Please hold off until August to Call Bill Nitsche at 725-1849 for reserving your tee time.
INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE SAILBOAT RACE All classes and all capabilities welcome. Two mile triangular course. Fourth of July at 10am. Larry call it Independence Day and Simon calls it Thanksgiving. Free sailor libations afterwards. Call Larry Doubleday at 725-6680 or Simon Aman at 773-4284 for details.
Maps, Guidebooks and Directories for sale for $3 each. Contact Jeanne Brenno, 725-9041
FISH STOCKING The last of the fish for this year were delivered on June 8th. This year the committee stocked the lake with over 250,000 fathead minnows, 500 rainbow Trout and 250 Largemouth Bass. Though stocking is over for 2003, our fundraising efforts continue with Bottle Drives July 12th and August 2nd contact Paul Nestork or Emilio Muscolino to arrange pickup) and the Pork Roast on July 19th. You can also drop your loose change at our collection boxes in the Boathouse or Snack Bar at Peck's Marina. So far we raised $425 with our bottle drives!! GREAT NEWS...we recently spotted rainbow fingerlings in our feeder streams...evidence that our trout stocking efforts will not go unrewarded!!
SAFETY TIP With the water level changing everyday, it is important to make sure boats are safely secured, especially when left on shore. recently a boat floated away - not only a potential hazard to other boaters, but to the boat, which in this case was badly damaged!
ELECTION SEASON IS HERE! CANDIDATES NEEDED! Please take an interest in representing your township. Presently, the Town of Bleecker has one lake representative on the board, John Peck whose term expires 2004. the Town of Bleecker positions to fill this fall include two board seats and the town supervisor office. Petitions for major party primaries can be picked up now and must be returned by July 10th. Independents have longer. It is imperative the the Lake region be well represented on the board in the coming years. Please take an interest in holding a town office, and become a candidate to represent the lake. Contact your current Bleecker town Board representative, John Peck at 725-0717 if you have any questions about these positions. Bleecker board meetings are the third Thursday of each month. Become an ACTIVE member of your community!
LOGO CONTEST The PLPA is looking for a new logo design and is asking the artisans of the lake to submit entries. The propose of the new design is to replace the current vehicle decals used as part of our community watch program. New design entries should be four inches in diameter; a single, high visibility color and contain the words Peck Lake Protective association. The deadline for entries is April 10, 2003. Contact Paul Nestork at 725-9115 with questions or to submit your entry.
BUILDING OR ADDING ON?? A full description of construction rules, regulations , restrictions and guidelines will be published in the fall issue of the Newsletter. In the interim, if you plan to build an addition or new structure, please review and abide by these rules found in the PLPA Guidebook and on this website.
The Waterskiing Regulations were included in this issue of the Newsletter.
TO OUR PECK'S LAKE NEIGHBORS: When Shim and I set eyes on Peck's Lake, we knew we found our piece of heaven. As we told many of you, it was our dream come true. What we did not expect, was the warm welcome we received from the Peck's Lake community. Starting with our terrific neighbor, Tom Foster, who got out of a sick bed to show us how to start the pump for our well when it stopped working the first week we moved in, everyone we've met has extended himself to make us feel part of the community. what an extra bonus!! We look forward to spending many wonderful years on the lake and to making lasting friendships along the way.
Evelyn Kirschenfeld
2nd ANNUAL PORK ROAST The PLPA FISH STOCKING COMMITTEE is holding its second annual Pork Roast on Saturday, July 19th with dinner starting at 4pm. This year's Pork Roast will be catered by Longhorn Catering Company from Albany. SEATING IS LIMITED!! So buy your tickets early. Cost per dinner is $15. Take-outs WILL NOT be available. To purchase tickets, please contact Emilio Muscolino (725-3345), Alby Peck (725-3673) or Paul Nestork (725-9115).
Country Living by Esther P. Neal
The American Goldfinch is one of our prettiest summer and winter residents. Perhaps I shouldn't say winter since the colors fade to greenish-yellow and the male loses his black cap for a few months. The female becomes even drabber as winter approaches.
They are the only songbirds that nest in August or nearly September, quite the opposite of other songsters. they do this to provide their young with thistle seed, which ripens in September. In the spring you may see lawns dotted with dandelions with many Goldfinch feeding on the flowers. It is a beautiful sight.
In early days these birds were called thistlebirds or wild canaries. I once caught a baby in a large urn my mother had planted with cannas. Perhaps that started my birding!
With niger seed feeders out in the winter months, Goldfinch may be around in very large flocks of 35 to 50 daily. These, plus their cousins, the Pine Siskins, make the days brighter.
Parent Goldfinch feed on seeds primarily but do take some small insects - among them aphids from plants. They stuff their crops and later regurgitate this to the young.
The female is very secretive about the location of her nest. It is usually in a berry bush or some low shaded bush. The nest is tiny, woven of fine plant material, lined with thistle down. It has commonly four to six pale blueish eggs with no gloss.
While nesting, the male sweeps over the area and if the female calls, he drops down and feeds her. It may be as long as an hour before he returns with food.
Once the young have fledged they follow the parents about in the air calling "chipee chipee."
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ARTICLES WANTED! Articles are wanted for publication in the upcoming newsletter and later on the Web Site. Submit your article, saved as a simple text file to Kathy Henry, Newsletter Editor.